Haemul Pajeon, or Korean seafood pancake, is a widely loved snack in Korea. A harmony of seafood, green onions and flavorful batter creates a savory pancake to die for. It's reasonably simple to make, and is also great for parties or gatherings, as it pairs wonderfully with alcoholic beverages. Koreans usually enjoy haemul pajeon with makgeolli (milky Korean rice wine) or soju (Korean vodka). Invite your friends over for a delicious treat.

Haemul Pajeon, or Korean seafood pancake, is a widely loved snack in Korea. A harmony of seafood, green onions and flavorful batter creates a savory pancake to die for. It's reasonably simple to make, and is also great for parties or gatherings, as it pairs wonderfully with alcoholic beverages. Koreans usually enjoy haemul pajeon with makgeolli (milky Korean rice wine) or soju (Korean vodka). Invite your friends over for a delicious treat.

for dipping sauce

Do you want it extra crispy? If you like crispy texture, pre-heat the pan with more oil on high heat. Then, pour in batter and quickly cook on high heat until the bottom is golden brown. Once you add the seafood, flip and cook on high heat briefly for the golden brown color and crispy texture. Then, put it on the lowest heat to cook the seafood all the way.
Also, adding less water will make the pancake more crispy. Adding more water will result in softer texture.

Easier way to cook: If you are not comfortable with quickly flipping the pancake with toppings, you can use a different cooking method. Cut green onions into 2 to 3 inches length. Then mix in all the ingredients in the batter and cook in a pan all together. This way you don't have to worry about ingredients falling off when flipping. Plus, it will be a bit faster to cook.

Optional Ingredients and Substitutions

buchimgaru (korean pancake mix): You can use regular all purpose flour instead. But, using buchimgaru (korean pancake mix) will definitely enhance the flavor and texture.Eggs: Don't have to use them if you are using buchimgaru.Minced Garlic: You can omit minced garlic in the sauce.Seafood: You can use just one or two kinds of seafood you like. Also, you can replace seafood with any meat or vegetables. But, remember that the ingredients you use will affect the flavor of the whole dish.Red and green chili peppers: You don't have to use both kinds. Green chili peppers add a very nice spicy kick. Red chili peppers are great for the contrasting red color. If you cannot take spiciness of chili peppers, try using regular red and green peppers.

More questions? Please leave your questions below in the comments section. We will do our best to answer as soon as we can.

instructions

photos

summary

Ingredient amounts in the recipe instructions are for the default serving size.

Click to enlarge photos.

Ingredient amounts in the recipe summary are for the default serving size.

1. Prepare ingredients

If you are using frozen seafood, thaw in water completely before using. Wash all seafood in light salt water, rinse and drain all the water in a strainer. Cut into bite sizes if necessary. Wash green onions. Cut off the roots. Wash and thinly slice red and green chili peppers.

1

Wash seafood

in salt water

rinse and drain

cut into bite size

Wash green onions

cut roots

Wash & slice thinly

red, green chili peppers

2. Pancake mix

In a large bowl, mix 2 cups of buchimgaru (korean pancake mix), 1¾ cups of cold water, 2 eggs and ⅛ teaspoon of salt throughly. if using plain flour, add more salt. Using cold water gives a nice elastic texture. If you are not using eggs, add another ¼ cup of water.

2

Mix

2 cups buchimgaru

1¾ cups cold water

⅛ teaspoon salt

2 eggs

3. Pour batter

Coat a non-stick pan (11” to 13”) with vegetable oil. Preheat on medium heat for a minute. Pour ½ cup of the pancake batter in the pan while moving the pan in circular motion for even distribution.

3

Preheat Med Heat 1 min

Coat vegetable oil

Pour

½ cup of batter

4. Add green onions

Quickly place about 6 green onions on top alternating heads and roots.

4

place

6 green onions

5. Add seafoods & chili peppers

Quickly top it with seafoods and red & green chili peppers.

5

Add

seafoods

red chili peppers

green chili peppers

6. Add more batter

Add another ¾ to 1 cup of the pancake mix all over the topping and around the edge to fill the rest of the pan. Press down toppings so they are embedded into the uncooked pancake batter. This will prevent toppings from falling off when flipping.

6

Add

1 cup pancake mix

Press down

7. Cook

Cook 2-3 min on medium heat until the bottom is golden brown. See above tips for directions to make it extra crispy.

7

Cook until golden brown bottom

Med Heat 3 min

8. Flip

Flip the pancake. If there is no oil left in the pan, add a little bit of vegetable oil around the edge and move the pan in circular motion for even distribution at the bottom of the pan. Cook for another 4-6 minutes until the bottom is gold brown on low to medium heat.

8

Flip

Add oil

Cook till golden brown bottom

Low Heat

5 min

9. Plate

Flip again and slide it onto a serving plate.

9

Flip

Slide on plate

10. Serve with dipping sauce

In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, vinegar, water (2 tablespoons each) and sliced red/green peppers for dipping sauce. If you have minced garlic, add 1 teaspoon for a kick. Serve the dipping sauce on the side. You can serve the pancake as a whole or cut with scissors into two bite-size rectangles.

10

Mix

2 tbs soy sauce

2 tbs vinegar

2 tbs water

½ each red & green peppers

1 tsp garlic (optional)

Serve

Comments

Thank you for a great website with both recipes and cultural information. I'd love to see a wheat flour free version for a pajeon recipe, such as the rice flour based dongnae pajeon, as I am sensitive to wheat/gluten.

HI OldToby, It won't work with just egg whites. You can use rice flour or sweet rice flour which does not have wheat. You may have to vary the amount of water though with different types of flour. You can also use ground mung bean or ground potato. We will post gluten free version soon and email you. If you want us to send it to a different email than the one you registered with, please send us an email with a different address. Happy cooking!